There is a trend towards increasingly large passenger aircraft, for which it is desirable to have correspondingly large wing spans. However, the maximum aircraft span is effectively limited by airport operating rules which govern various clearances required when manoeuvring around the airport (such as the span and/or ground clearance required for gate entry and safe taxiway usage).
To address this problem, aircraft having so-called folding wing tips have been suggested. For example, a previously-suggested arrangement comprises an aircraft having a wing tip device that may be configurable between: (i) a flight configuration for use during flight, and (ii) a ground configuration for use during ground-based operations. In the ground configuration, the wing tip device is moved away from the flight configuration such that the span of the aircraft wing is reduced. The aircraft typically comprises an actuator for moving the wing tip device between the flight and ground configurations. That actuator may need to be of a relatively high capacity (especially in an arrangement in which the wing tip device is hinged to the tip of a fixed wing as the actuator may have a relatively low mechanical advantage when initially actuating the wing tip device).
For safety reasons, aircraft also typically comprise a locking system for locking the wing tip device in the flight configuration. In principle, an independent locking/unlocking mechanism may be provided. However, it is more desirable to have an arrangement in which the locking system is functionally linked to the wing tip actuator, such that the wing tip device is prevented from being actuated to the ground configuration, unless or until the wing tip device is unlocked.